Vision system integration

ABSTRACT

A control system including a drive system and a blade system; a collision sensor; a main board having a main processor and in communication with the collision sensor, the drive system, and the blade system; the collision sensor, upon sensing a collision, capable of transmitting a collision signal to the main processor; the main board capable of transmitting an adjustment command to the drive system or the blade system; a vision sensor; a vision processor in communication with the vision sensor and the main processor, and capable of determining whether the image data represent an obstacle; the vision sensor capable of transmitting image data to the vision processor; when the vision processor determines the image data represent an obstacle, the vision processor capable of transmitting a collision-replicating signal to the main processor, prompting the main board to transmit the adjustment command to the drive system and/or the blade system.

CROSS REFERENCE

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/691,445, filed on Jun. 28, 2018. The contents of thisprior application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This application relates to autonomous lawn vehicles, a category thatincludes lawn mowers, tractors, and landscaping machinery.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY

The lawn mower industry continues to seek ways to ease users' physicalburdens. Thus, lawn mowers have undergone an automation evolution,starting with self-propulsion, with recent developments signaling amovement towards unmanned (or autonomous) technology. These developmentsaim to purge physical labor from lawn mowing, at least as much aspossible.

Autonomous lawn mowers typically include collision systems positioned atthe front (although these can also appear on the sides or rear), similarto the bumpers on most automobiles. The collision system on anautonomous lawn mower usually includes one or more collision sensors.When an autonomous lawn mower travels across a lawn, impact with anobject will trigger the collision sensor to initiate a safety process,and then permit the lawn mower to continue mowing.

In addition to a collision assembly, the typical autonomous lawn mowerincludes a navigation system, although the term “navigation” is usedbroadly here. The term can encompass any system that helps theautonomous lawn mower navigate, traverse, or stay within the bounds of auser's lawn.

In one known system, underground wires or beacons can mark a lawn'sborders, along with obstacles interior to a yard such as trees or flowerbeds. But these markers require time-consuming, burdensome installationand a separate power source. Indeed, these markers often generate amagnetic field so the autonomous lawn mower can sense, monitor, and staywithin the bounds of the marked border. This field is vulnerable tointerference from underground ferromagnetic materials and neighboringmarker systems. In addition, the markers are vulnerable to physicaldamage from gardening activities or excavation and may requiremaintenance. As a result, underground markers can suffer downtime.

In another known system, an autonomous lawn mower can follow aGPS-mapped path. Reliance on GPS, however, risks signal distortions andreflections, given the landmarks, walls, and tree canopies, among otherobstructions, in many lawns. Further, without the most power-hungry andexpensive equipment, a GPS-guided autonomous lawn mower cannot approachoptimal mowing precision. That is, these types of lawn mowers cannot mowwithin a few inches of obstacles (if those obstacles are somehow evenprogrammed into the GPS map), and must instead keep a larger distancefrom those obstacles to provide enough assurance to avoid collisions,leaving significant portions unmowed.

In another known system, autonomous lawn mowers can rely on mowing pathsstored in memory, based on a previous, memorized mowing path, tosubsequently navigate that lawn. Reliance on a stored mowing path,however, also requires continual updates as the lawn environmentchanges, regardless of how small those changes might be.

Finally, other known autonomous lawn mowers simply navigate randomlyabout a lawn, relying on a bumper and collision sensor to hit (and thenmaneuver about) obstacles. In short, many autonomous lawn mowers lackany actual navigation system, like the three mentioned previously, orotherwise. These lawn mowers constantly recalibrate their paths fromobject to object. This risks damaging those objects, and the lawn mowersthemselves.

Each approach presents unique problems and all of these approaches lackany reliable way to address temporary obstacles and periodic changes toa lawn. A system should account for unexpected, continual changes alllawns present, while minimizing the reliance on a collision sensor. Thissystem should minimize installation costs and operational interruptions,whether those hindrances stem from electronic interference withunderground markers or physical obstructions to GPS. Finally, the systemshould maximize precision by mowing as near as possible to obstacles andborders.

The systems disclosed describe an autonomous lawn mower that improvesobstacle avoidance by combining a collision sensor with a vision-basedobstacle avoidance system, where the vision system will in certainmanners mimic the input that would be received from the collision sensorto provide a more accurate and responsive signal to the drive systemand/or the cutting blade system to avoid collisions and/or stop themower and if necessary stop the blades. For purposes of this disclosure,obstacles are objects or surfaces an autonomous lawn mower would notreasonably mow. For example, an autonomous lawn mower might beprogrammed not to mow large sticks, significant holes, animals,sidewalks, lawn décor, toys, and children.

The description, below, and its accompanying drawings, will provide abetter understanding of the invention and set forth embodiments thatindicate the various ways in which the invention may be employed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of an autonomous lawn mower embodimentfeaturing a collision assembly.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary process the autonomous lawn mower in FIG. 1executes when impacting an obstacle.

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of an autonomous lawn mower embodimentfeaturing a collision assembly and a vision assembly.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of the collision assembly and vision assembly ofFIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is an exemplary process the autonomous lawn mower in FIG. 3executes when encountering an obstacle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This description describes one or more embodiments and should not limitthe invention to those embodiments. The description explains principlesof the invention to enable one of ordinary skill in the art tounderstand and apply the principles to practice both the describedembodiments and other embodiments that may come to mind. The invention'sscope should cover all embodiments that might fall within the scope ofthe claims, either literally or under the doctrine of equivalents.

An exemplary embodiment combines a system similar to collision assembly111, in FIG. 1, with a vision assembly. The collision sensor can be adisplacement sensor (a Hall effect sensor, for example) that provides asignal to the main processor of an autonomous lawn mower upon collision.For a particular depiction, FIG. 1 shows a side view of autonomous lawnmower 110. Lawn mower 110 includes main board 101, drive system 105,blade system 106, and collision assembly 111. Collision assembly 111includes collision sensor 112 and is in electronic communication withmain board 101. For purposes of this disclosure, all connections,communications, and conjoining, among similar features, contemplatewired and wireless communication, direct and indirect connections, andmultidirectional power and data transfer, unless otherwise stated.

Main board 101 includes main processor 102, drive controller 103, andblade controller 104, and connects to drive system 105 and blade system106. Main processor 102 determines the commands drive controller 103sends to drive system 105 and the commands blade controller 104 sends toblade system 106. Blade controller 104 and drive controller 103 may eachcomprise one or more electric motor controllers depending upon thenumber of motors used to drive the blade(s) in blade system 106 and thenumber of motors used in drive system 105.

FIG. 2 depicts process 150, which the lawn mower 110 executes when itimpacts an object. At 151, lawn mower 110 powers up, before activatingcollision sensor 112 at 152 and powering the blade(s) at 153. As lawnmower 110 navigates a lawn, at 155, impact with an obstacle, at 157,will trigger collision sensor 112, which transmits a collision signal tothe main board 101. Upon receiving the collision signal, main board 101will issue an adjustment command via drive controller 103 to the drivesystem, at 158. This command can slow, stop, or turn lawn mower 101, forexample.

Further, optional step 159 includes an adjustment command to bladesystem 106, which can brake or shut off the blade(s). In essence, eachof steps 158 and 159 help lawn mower 110 avoid further impacts with theobstacle and decrease the risk of injury or property damage. Afteradjusting either drive system 105 or blade system 106, lawn mower 110resumes its navigation, at 160, via a path that avoids a repeatedcollision with the obstacle.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show an exemplary combination of collision assembly 111with vision assembly 213, and FIG. 5 represents an exemplary process forusing the same. When an autonomous lawn mower equipped with visionassembly 213 and collision assembly 111 confronts an obstacle, visionassembly 213 replicates the communication that collision assembly 111would otherwise implement (as discussed above) when the lawn mowercollides with an obstacle. This communication reaches main board 101,which adjusts drive system 105 or blade system 106, or both.

Autonomous lawn mower 210 includes drive system 105 and blade system106. In an exemplary embodiment, main board 101 includes a drivecontroller 103, which controls drive system 105 to determine theacceleration, braking, and turning of lawn mower 210. Drive controller103 controls electric motors 108 to control rotation of two drive wheels109, which can reside at either the front or rear of lawn mower 210.Drive controller 103 also helps steer lawn mower 210, in particular, byvarying the rotational speed and direction of rotation of drive wheels109. Although autonomous lawn mower 210 features a drive system havingelectric motors 108 powered by a battery 107, alternate drive systemspowered by a gas engine or by a gas-electric hybrid system cansubstitute for the pure electric drive system of autonomous lawn mower210.

Main board 101 also includes blade controller 104, which controls bladesystem 106 to determine the rotation of blade(s) 119. Blade controller104 controls the blade(s) rotational speed, and can stop blade(s) 119 bysending an adjustment command to blade system 106, as described furtherbelow.

FIG. 3 shows vision assembly 213 as a modular accessory, with which auser can modify a compatible autonomous lawn mower. Despite thisdepiction, vision assembly 213 and collision assembly 111 can also bemanufactured alongside one another and integral to autonomous lawn mower210. FIG. 4 shows vision assembly 213 connected, via connection 216, tomain board 101. Battery 107 powers main board 101, collision sensor 112,and vision assembly 213.

Collision assembly 111 includes collision sensor 112 and connects tomain board 101, which connects to battery 107. Main board 101 housesmain processor 102, while battery 107 connects to and powers main board101, which regulates the power that reaches collision assembly 111.

Collision sensor 112 senses obstacles and can be any one of severalimpact sensors or switches, such as a displacement sensor (which simplyrelies on displacement to close an electronic circuit), a Hall Effectsensor, an inertia sensor, or a roller sensor. But collision sensor 112may also, instead, be a current sensor, torque sensor, dynamometer,speed sensor, or accelerometer, for example, capable of detecting,either directly or indirectly, an interruption in lawn mower movement.Regardless, each of these sensors comports with the goal of collisionsensor 112, which is, simply, to sense obstacles the autonomous lawnmower contacts. Thus, this disclosure refers to “collision sensors” asincluding not only impact sensors, but also any sensor that can senseimpact with an obstacle based on changes to the lawn mower's speed,propulsion, and direction. The sensed impact on autonomous lawn mower210 can occur at any external surface of the lawn mower body, e.g., thefront, sides, rear, top, or bottom. A contact at any of these locationswould affect the lawn mower's speed, propulsion, and direction.

Main board 101 includes main processor 102, which contains instructionsthat interpret and process input data from collision sensor 112. Mainboard 101 includes drive controller 103, which connects with drivesystem 105, and blade controller 104, which connects with blade system106. Main processor 102, at its simplest, comprises any processor orchip capable of storing and executing instructions, but mightalternatively comprise any number of an ARM chip, a DSP, or GPU, amongother processors. As in lawn mower 110 in FIG. 1, main processor 102 oflawn mower 210 determines the commands drive controller 103 sends todrive system 105 and the commands blade controller 104 sends to bladesystem 106.

In action, for example, main board 101 and main processor 102 connectwith, and constantly monitor, the voltage signal output from collisionassembly 111. For example, main board 101 looks detects either azero-signal (a 0V signal or simply, no voltage) or a threshold signal (a5V signal). That is, when lawn mower 201 navigates a lawn, the mainboard 101 detects the zero-signal from collision assembly 111. When lawnmower 201 collides with an obstacle, collision sensor 112 (a Hall Effectsensor, for purposes of this example) displaces based on the bumper'scontact with the obstacle, and collision assembly 111 produces thethreshold signal instead of the zero-signal. Based on the detection ofthis shift from the zero-signal to the threshold signal, main processor102 will then command drive controller 104 or blade controller 106 toinitiate a change to the normal operation of lawn mower 201, such as anevasive maneuver like a turn or blade stoppage.

Vision assembly 213 connects to main board 101 and draws energy frombattery 107. Vision assembly 213 may also include its own power source(not shown), separate from battery 107. Vision assembly 213 can beinstalled on autonomous lawn mower 210 either after manufacture, as aplug-in, optional, or modular component, or autonomous lawn mower 210can be manufactured with both collision assembly 111 and vision assembly213 built-in.

Vision assembly 213 uses vision sensor 214 and vision processor 215 todetermine the presence of obstacles as autonomous lawn mower 210approaches them, reducing the reliance on collision assembly 111, whichlawn mower 210 would only use when vision assembly 213 fails torecognize an obstacle. Unlike other navigation systems, vision assembly213 can address temporary or moving obstacles, such as fallen treebranches, the movement of pets or persons, and other changes to a mowingenvironment. Vision sensor 214 can be a 2D or 3D camera or a 360 degreecamera, among other known technologies, and connects with visionprocessor 215. Vision assembly 213 can include one or more of theseexemplary vision sensors, in any combination.

Vision processor 215 receives image data from vision sensor 214 andextracts relevant information from those data to apply internal,vision-based logic to identify obstacles, which are any objects orsurfaces an autonomous lawn mower would not reasonably mow. For example,an autonomous lawn mower might be programmed not to mow large sticks,significant holes, animals, sidewalks, lawn décor, toys, and children.Vision processor 215 can reside either on main board 101 or connect tomain board 101 through connection 216, while residing elsewhere onautonomous lawn mower 210. Regardless of its location, vision processor215 connects with main board 101 and main processor 102. Visionprocessor 215, like main processor 102, comprises any chip capable ofstoring and executing instructions, and might combine any number of anARM chip, a DSP, or GPU, among other processors. Vision sensor 214 mayalso connect to, and rely solely on, main processor 102, obviating theneed for a vision processor entirely, with main processor 102 performingthe functions that vision processor 215 would otherwise perform. Thisarrangement presumes main processor 102 features the relevant, internal,vision-based logic.

Vision sensor 214 captures image(s) and/or video of an area in front ofautonomous lawn mower 210. For example, vision sensor 214 includes a 2Dcamera, a 3D camera, a 360-degree camera, and/or any other type ofcamera that is configured to capture image(s) and/or video of asurrounding area of autonomous lawn mower 210. Vision processor 215 usesimage recognition software to detect obstacles and/or other lawn objectsthat autonomous lawn mower 210 is approaching.

For example, to detect the obstacles and/or other lawn objects, visionprocessor 215 uses image recognition software to perform segmentation ofthe image(s) captured by vision sensor 214. Image segmentation is animage classification technique that assigns pixels of an image todifferent constituent parts based on characteristics of thoseconstituent parts. Further, as an alternative, vision processor 215 mayidentify portions of a captured image that are associated with uncutgrass, cut grass, particular types of obstacles, and other classes oflawn objects. In fact, various vision assemblies can complementcollision assembly 111 in lawn mower 210.

To perform image segmentation, vision processor 215 uses edge detectionand/or machine learning techniques such as artificial neural networks(e.g., convolutional neural networks). For example, a convolutionalneural network of vision processor 215 includes color-based,texture-based, structural-based, and/or other characteristic-basedprocessing to perform image recognition. Additionally or alternatively,vision processor 215 uses may use Lidar as a supplement to vision sensor214, to continuously determine a distance between autonomous lawn mower210 and an obstacle. For example, autonomous lawn mower 210 includes aLidar sensor to facilitate vison processor 215 in detecting obstaclesand identifying corresponding movement paths of autonomous lawn mower210 in low-light environments. In other embodiments, radar or anultrasonic sensor may be used to supplement vision sensor 214 forsimilar reasons.

By combining vision assembly 213 with collision assembly 111, autonomouslawn mower 210 will avoid obstacles using vision assembly 213, renderingcollision assembly 111, in essence, a backup feature. Although collisionassembly 111 remains operational, and collision with an obstacle willprompt main board 101 to initiate a safety procedure, the collisionassembly process becomes secondary to the vision assembly process.

In a system without vision assembly 213, like the one described above,collision assembly 111 serves as the sole mechanism for autonomous lawnmower 210 to address obstacles. During operation, drive system 105propels autonomous lawn mower 210 forward while blade system 106 rotatesblade(s) 119. When autonomous lawn mower 210 impacts an obstacle,collision sensor 112 senses the collision and transmits a collisionsignal to main board 101. Main processor 102 processes that signal sodrive controller 103 can send an adjustment command to drive system 105,blade controller 104 can send an adjustment command to blade system 106,or the controllers can send adjustment commands to both systems.

Drive controller 103 can command drive system 105 to initiate any of thefollowing courses of action for lawn mower 210, among others: (a)immediate stoppage, followed by a left or right turn away from theobstacle; (b) reversal, followed by a left or right turn away from theobstacle; (c) delayed (0.5 to 1 second delay) stoppage, followed by aleft or right turn away from the obstacle; and (d) substantiallycomplete or complete 180° turnaround. Each of these actions recalibratesthe mowing path and avoids damaging the obstacle or the lawn mower afterthe initial impact. Also, upon impact, blade controller 104 can commandblade system 106 to pause blade rotation for an appropriate time perioduntil autonomous lawn mower 210 has successfully avoided further impactswith the obstacle.

In an exemplary embodiment combining collision assembly 111 with visionassembly 213, collision assembly 111 becomes secondary. Duringoperation, vision sensor 214 will constantly transmit image data to mainprocessor 102 or vision processor 215 (depending on whether visionassembly 213 includes its own processor, as described further below) asautonomous lawn mower 210 navigates a lawn. The processor continuallydetermines whether autonomous lawn mower 210 is approaching an obstacleby processing image data from a programmed distance in front of the lawnmower. This distance may be between zero (0) and six (6) inches, basedon the angle and height of vision sensor 214, and the programmed fieldof view of vision sensor 214, which is approximately the width of thefront of lawn mower 210. Depending on the desired precision and safetymargins, a user can adjust both the angle and height of vision sensor214 to vary the programmed distance.

In a first hardware arrangement, vision sensor 214 can connect to mainboard 101 and rely solely on main processor 102, without an additionalvision-specific processor (a “one-processor arrangement”). Vision sensor214 transmits image data to main processor 102, which determines whetherthe image data reveal that autonomous lawn mower 210 is approaching anobstacle. If main processor 102 determines the data represent anobstacle, main processor 102 will command drive controller 103 to sendan adjustment command to drive system 105 or blade controller 104 tosend an adjustment command to blade system 106, or command bothcontrollers to send a combination of adjustment commands. Thistwo-processor arrangement means that the control responses of lawn mower210 programmed into the processor and controllers of main board 101 neednot be replicated in a separate vehicle control system responsive tocommands from vision processor 215. Consequently, vision assembly 213takes on a self-contained, plug-and-play or modular character, whilemain processor 102 need not have the capability and capacity to processimage data. This reduces component complexity and cost.

In a second hardware arrangement, vision assembly 213 can include itsown processor, instead of relying solely on main processor 102 (a“two-processor arrangement”). Vision sensor 214 will intake the imagedata and transmit that data to vision processor 215. When visionprocessor 215 determines that certain image data reveal an obstacle,vision processor 215 transmits a collision-replicating signal to mainboard 101. The collision-replicating signal mimics the collision signalcollision sensor 112 sends main board 101 when lawn mower 210 collideswith an obstacle, making main processor “think” autonomous lawn mower210 has collided with an obstacle by matching the voltage of thecollision-based signal to create the same effect a collision would. Fromthis point, as in the one-processor arrangement, main processor 102(which does not distinguish the collision signal from thecollision-replicating signal) will command drive controller 103 to sendan adjustment command to drive system 105 or blade controller 104 tosend an adjustment command to blade system 106, or command bothcontrollers to send adjustment commands.

Regardless whether vision assembly 213 includes the one-processorarrangement or the two-processor arrangement, controllers on the mainboard transmit adjustment commands to drive system 105 or blade system106, or both systems. Further, in either arrangement, the output ofvision assembly 213 mimics that of collision assembly 111 when acollision occurs: main board 101 will receive the zero-signal undernormal operation and it will receive the threshold signal when visionassembly 213 detects an obstacle. The logic of vision assembly 213, uponsensing an obstacle, will trigger the emission of the threshold voltage.Drive system 105 can then decelerate, stop, turn, or employ anycombination of maneuvers, while blade system 106 can adjust the bladerotation, including stopping the blade rotation.

An exemplary process 250 for using such a system is shown in FIG. 5. At251, the lawn mower powers up, then activates the collision sensor at252, powers the blade(s) at 253, and activates the vision sensor at 254.As the lawn mower navigates a lawn, at 255, the vision sensor'sdetection of an obstacle, at 256, or the collision sensor's collisionwith an obstacle, at 257, will result in the transmission of a collisionor collision-replicating signal to main board 101. Upon receiving thissignal, main processor 102 will command drive controller 103 to adjustdrive system 105, at 258, command blade controller 104 to adjust theblade system 106, at 259, or controllers 103, 104 will adjust bothsystems 105, 106. After adjusting one or both of the systems, lawn mower210 resumes its navigation, at 260, via a path that avoids a repeatedcollision with the obstacle.

Using vision assembly 213, blade controller 104 can relay differentadjustment commands to blade system 106 based on the type of obstaclethat lawn mower 210 confronts. For example, either main processor 102 orvision processor 215 can distinguish between different types ofobstacles and initiate different adjustment commands accordingly: (a)when vision sensor 214 senses an obstacle that represents a human or apet, blade system 106 can stop blades entirely; (b) when vision sensor214 senses an inanimate obstacle that lawn mower 210 should avoiddamaging (say, a garden hose), blade system 106 can pause blade rotationfor a time period of anywhere between 1 and 3 seconds, permitting lawnmower 210 to resume navigation along a different path; and (c) whenvision sensor 214 senses an inanimate obstacle that lawn mower 210 neednot avoid mowing (a small twig, perhaps), blade system 106 can maintainblade rotational speed. Either main processor 102 or vision processor215 can feature different visual processing abilities that cancorrespond to different blade rotation adjustments, depending onrelevant safety requirements and the manufacturer's or user'spreferences.

While the foregoing description expounds upon specific embodiments ofthe invention, those skilled in the art will appreciate that one couldmodify or adapt those embodiments based on the teachings herein.Accordingly, the disclosed arrangements are merely illustrative andshould not limit the invention's scope.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A control system for a lawn vehicle havinga drive system to control movement of the lawn vehicle and a bladesystem to control rotation of at least one blade, the control systemcomprising: a collision assembly including a collision sensor; a mainprocessor in communication with the collision sensor, the drive system,and the blade system; wherein, the collision sensor, upon sensing acollision between the lawn vehicle and an obstacle, is configured totransmit a collision signal to the main processor; upon receipt of thecollision signal by the main processor, a first adjustment command istransmitted to at least one of (a) the drive system to adjust themovement of the lawn vehicle and (b) the blade system to adjust therotation of the at least one blade; a vision assembly, including avision sensor, comprising: the vision sensor in communication with themain processor and configured to transmit image data to the mainprocessor; the main processor configured to determine whether thereceived image data represent an obstacle, wherein when the mainprocessor determines the received image data represent an obstacle, asecond adjustment command is transmitted to at least one of (a) thedrive system to adjust the movement of the lawn vehicle and the (b) theblade system to adjust the rotation of the at least one blade, the firstadjustment command and the second adjustment command having the samevoltage as one another.
 2. The control system of claim 1, where thecollision assembly further includes a bumper configured to be displacedwhen the lawn vehicle collides with an obstacle to trigger the collisionsensor to transmit the collision signal to the main processor.
 3. Thecontrol system of claim 1, where the collision sensor is one of a HallEffect sensor, current sensor, torque sensor, dynamometer,accelerometer, and speed sensor.
 4. The control system of claim 1, wherethe collision sensor is located at a bottom portion of the lawn vehicle.5. The control system of claim 1, where the collision sensor is locatedat a side portion of the lawn vehicle.
 6. The control system of claim 1,where the vision sensor comprises a camera.
 7. The control system ofclaim 1, further comprising a supplementary sensor, wherein thesupplementary sensor comprises one of a radar, Lidar, and ultrasonicsystem.
 8. The control system of claim 1, where the drive systemreverses the lawn vehicle upon receipt by the drive system of at leastone of the first adjustment command or the second adjustment command. 9.The control system of claim 1, where the drive system stops the lawnvehicle upon receipt by the drive system of at least one of the firstadjustment command or the second adjustment command.
 10. The controlsystem of claim 1, where the drive system turns the lawn vehicle uponreceipt by the drive system of at least one of the first adjustmentcommand or the second adjustment command.
 11. The control system ofclaim 1, where the blade system stops movement of the at least one bladeupon receipt by the blade system of at least one of the first adjustmentcommand or the second adjustment command.
 12. The control system ofclaim 1, where the lawn vehicle moves according to a first navigationbefore the at least one (a) adjustment of the movement of the lawnvehicle and (b) adjustment of the rotation of the at least one blade,and where the lawn vehicle resumes movement according to a secondnavigation after the at least one (a) adjustment of the movement of thelawn vehicle and (b) adjustment of the rotation of the at least oneblade.
 13. A control system for a lawn vehicle having a drive system tocontrol movement of the lawn vehicle and a blade system to controlrotation of at least one blade, the control system comprising: acollision assembly comprising a collision sensor; a main processor incommunication with the collision sensor, the drive system, and the bladesystem; a main board associated with the main processor; wherein, thecollision sensor transmits a collision signal to the main processor upondetection of a collision between the lawn vehicle and an obstacle; uponreceipt of the collision signal by the main processor, an adjustmentcommand is transmitted to at least one of (a) the drive system to adjustthe movement of the lawn vehicle and (b) the blade system to adjust therotation of the at least one blade; a vision assembly comprising: avision sensor configured to transmit image data; a vision processor incommunication with the vision sensor and the main processor, andconfigured to receive the image data from the vision sensor anddetermining whether the received image data represent an obstacle;wherein, when the vision processor determines that the received imagedata represent an obstacle, the vision processor transmits acollision-replicating signal to the main processor; upon receipt of thecollision-replicating signal by the main processor, the adjustmentcommand is transmitted to at least one of (a) the drive system to adjustthe movement of the lawn vehicle and (b) the blade system to adjust therotation of the at least one blade; and wherein the blade system stopsmovement of the at least one blade upon the blade system's receipt ofthe adjustment command from the main processor.
 14. The control systemof claim 13, where the collision assembly further includes a bumperconfigured to be displaced when the lawn vehicle collides with anobstacle to trigger the collision sensor to transmit the collisionsignal to the main processor.
 15. The control system of claim 13, wherethe collision sensor is one of a Hall Effect sensor, torque sensor,dynamometer, accelerometer, and speed sensor.
 16. The control system ofclaim 13, where the collision sensor is located at a bottom portion ofthe lawn vehicle.
 17. The control system of claim 13, where thecollision sensor is located at a side portion of the lawn vehicle. 18.The control system of claim 13, where the vision sensor comprises acamera.
 19. The control system of claim 13, further comprising asupplementary sensor, wherein the supplementary sensor comprises one ofa radar, Lidar, and ultrasonic system.
 20. The control system of claim13, where the drive system reverses movement of the lawn vehicle uponthe drive system's receipt of the adjustment command from the mainprocessor.
 21. The control system of claim 13, where the drive systemstops movement of the lawn vehicle upon the drive system's receipt ofthe adjustment command from the main processor.
 22. The control systemof claim 13, where the drive system turns the lawn vehicle upon thedrive system's receipt of the adjustment command from the mainprocessor.
 23. The control system of claim 13, where the lawn vehiclemoves according to a first navigation before the at least one (a)adjustment of the movement of the lawn vehicle and (b) adjustment of therotation of the at least one blade, and where the lawn vehicle resumesmovement according to a second navigation after the (a) at least oneadjustment of the movement of the lawn vehicle and (b) adjustment of therotation of the at least one blade.
 24. A control system for a lawnvehicle comprising: a drive system to control movement of the lawnvehicle; a blade system to control rotation of at least one blade; acollision assembly including a collision sensor; a main board incommunication with the collision sensor, the drive system, and the bladesystem; a vision assembly in communication with the main board andhaving a vision sensor; wherein the collision sensor, upon sensing acollision between the lawn vehicle and an obstacle, is configured totransmit a collision signal to the main board; wherein the main board,upon receipt of the collision signal, is configured to transmit a driveadjustment command to the drive system to adjust the movement of thelawn vehicle and/or transmit a blade adjustment command to the bladesystem to adjust the rotation of the at least one blade; wherein thevision sensor is configured to transmit image data to the main board forprocessing to determine whether the image data represent an obstacle;wherein the main board, upon a determination that the image datarepresent an obstacle, is configured to transmit the drive adjustmentcommand to the drive system to adjust the movement of the lawn vehicleand/or transmit the blade adjustment command to the blade system toadjust the rotation of the at least one blade; and wherein the bladeadjustment command maintains blade rotational speed of the at least oneblade when an obstacle is categorized as an inanimate obstacle that thelawn vehicle need not avoid mowing.
 25. The control system of claim 24,wherein the main board comprises a main processor, a drive controller,and a blade controller.
 26. The control system of claim 25, wherein themain processor is configured to receive the collision signal and causethe drive controller to transmit the drive adjustment command to adjustthe movement of the lawn vehicle and/or cause the blade controller totransmit the blade adjustment command to adjust the rotation of the atleast one blade.
 27. The control system of claim 25, wherein the mainprocessor is configured to receive and process the image data anddetermine whether the image data represent an obstacle, and upon adetermination that the image data represent an obstacle, cause the drivecontroller to transmit the drive adjustment command to adjust themovement of the lawn vehicle and/or cause the blade controller transmitthe blade adjustment command to adjust the rotation of the at least oneblade.
 28. The control system of claim 25, wherein the vision assemblycommunicates with the main board through a vision processor incommunication with the main processor and the vision sensor.
 29. Thecontrol system of claim 28, wherein the vision processor is configuredto receive and process the image data and determine whether the imagedata represent an obstacle, and upon a determination that the image datarepresent an obstacle, transmit a collision-replicating signal to themain processor.
 30. The control system of claim 29, wherein the mainprocessor is configured to receive the collision-replicating signal andcause the drive controller to transmit the drive adjustment command toadjust the movement of the lawn vehicle and/or cause the bladecontroller to transmit the blade adjustment command to adjust therotation of the at least one blade.
 31. The control system of claim 24,wherein the blade adjustment command stops rotation of the at least oneblade when the obstacle is categorized as a human or pet.
 32. Thecontrol system of claim 24, wherein the blade adjustment command pausesrotation of the at least one blade for a period of time between one andthree seconds when an obstacle is categorized as an inanimate obstaclethat the lawn vehicle should avoid damaging.